QMI Agency

Rest easy, Canada, the fate of your Olympic hockey team is in the hands of "the best goalie in the world right now."

At least that's the assessment of Montreal Canadiens -- and Team Canada -- goaltender Carey Price by teammate P.K. Subban, who will also wear the maple leaf in Sochi, Russia, next month.

"I know he's my teammate and everything, but I'm hard pressed to find another goalie that's better than him right now in the world," Subban said after the Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. "There are some really good ones in this league but, the way he's playing of late and this year, to me he's the best goalie in the world right now."

Price's numbers wouldn't suggest he's the best in the world -- a 22-12-4 record with 2.26 goals-against average and .926 save percentage -- but he did play a whale of a game against the Senators, stopping 40 shots in the OT win.

Price will battle Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks and Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes for the No. 1 job with Team Canada. And, no, Subban doesn't get a vote.

The St. Louis Blues' offence will get a little pick-me-up for Saturday's home game against the red-hot Anaheim Ducks.

The Blues activated forward Alex Steen, their leading goal-scorer, from injured reserve Friday and announced he would be in the lineup against the Ducks. Steen missed 11 games with a concussion.

"I think we're going to play him as much as he can handle, and hopefully he can get up to speed right away and play the minutes that he did before and contribute the way he did before because he was a huge impact player for us," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said on the team's Twitter account.

Steen has a team-high 24 goals in 35 games this season and, with 14 assists, is second to T.J. Oshie in scoring for the Blues.

SOURAY'S SEASON ENDS

Anaheim Ducks defenceman Sheldon Souray, who hasn't played at all this season due to a wrist injury, had season-ending surgery Friday.

Souray had surgery on his right wrist to repair ligament damage caused during an off-ice workout in August. Put on injured reserve in September, he was expected to recover in 4-6 months but that isn't the case.

"This is a difficult situation for Sheldon and a tough loss for the team," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a statement. "Sheldon has been in pain for quite some time. This surgery was his best course of action in order to alleviate pain and discomfort, and regain full mobility in his wrist. Sheldon's long-term health is the most important issue right now, and we support his difficult decision to have this surgery."

Last season, Souray, 37, had seven goals and 10 assists in 44 games.

BRIEFLY

The Ducks sent goaltender John Gibson to Norfolk of the AHL and assigned defenceman Luca Sbisa to Norfolk on a long-term injury conditioning assignment. Gibson, who was called up Jan. 10, didn't play a game for the Ducks ... Phoenix Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal was fined $5,000 for high-sticking Vancouver Canucks forward David Booth on Jan. 16. Hanzal was given a double-minor on the play ... The New York Islanders sent forward Kirill Kabanov to MoDo in Sweden. The 21-year-old has spent this season with Bridgeport of the AHL and Stockton of the ECHL.